find joy in the journey

gifting at its finest

a sampling of a few things that entered our home this Christmas

 

oh, and of course panties.  (no photos of that one)

One of my favorite parts of Christmas day after all the gifts have been opened is hearing the "Christmas Shopping for Mom" report.  Scott always takes the kids shopping a couple days before Christmas and it is always an adventure.  Here's the run-down . . .

Payton is such a good boy.  He always comes in for me. This year he picked out a bag and lap desk for my new lap top.  Good job Payton.

Anna determined that she wanted to get me a book.  As Scott and the boys read book titles to her, one with the word "cat" in the title stuck out and she had to have it.  Scott (who hates cats) was able to deter her from that one and she eventually settled on a hardcover, coffee table book all about puppies.  So if you want to know anything about breeds, sizes, eating & personality habits, I've got you covered.

Conner's story takes the cake. So they set out shopping and he said, "I want to get mom some clothes so I can get back at her for always buying me clothes."  Oh, I just have to laugh.  He hates getting new clothes for his birthday (he usually gets one new outfit), and so you know we have to taunt him about it . . . like, wrapping all his birthday gifts in clothes boxes.  Scott tried to explain to him, "you know, Conner, Mom actually likes to get new clothes so I don't think you would be getting back at her."  His second idea was a Twilight Video Game.  Big surprise, they don't make those (not much of a market for video games geared towards teenage girls).  So plan C was back to clothes and I have to say that he picked well.

the sweet smells, tastes, sights, sounds of Christmas

the sweet smells of Christmas . . . .

• pomegranate ice burning in the scentsy warmer
• twilight woods shower gel, lotion, and perfume in my stocking . . . smells just like Edward in the forest. ;)
• christmas morning rolls baking in the oven

the sweet tastes of Christmas . . . .

• reindeer milk -- a new one this year that we picked up from our friends. It's a blended mixture of eggnog, apple juice, and vanilla ice cream. We like it with 1 cup nog, 1 cup juice, 2-3 cups vanilla ice cream, but you can play with the proportions.
• stuffed mushrooms with help from the pioneer woman
• ham, baked potatoes, homemadebroccoli & cheese soup
• christmas morning rolls
• baklava, fudge, gingerbread men cookies, and a delicious gifted chunk of coconut cake.

 

the sweet sights of Christmas . . .

the lights of the christmas tree, red packages wrapped with white ribbons. . . the calm before the storm.  

three cuties in their new christmas eve pajamas  

anna riding her new bike (complete with a front woven basket and a bell) around the kitchen island.  Around and around and around . . .

and then watching her go for it outside with no problem at all.  

Payton deep in Lego concentration and yet, continually distracted by . . . everything.  Once he realized he got distracted he would yell, "ah! I forgot about my legos!" and go running back to the table and dig into the millennium falcon or space police car in progress.  And then the cycle would begin again.  Eventually he did complete both ships.  What a cute, silly boy.

 

my new boots :)  

the sunshine -- what a difference from one year ago.

the sweet sounds of Christmas . . .

Conner's 4 am Merry Christmas! wake-up call at my bedside.  I sent him back to bed.  At 5am the sounds of The Chipmunk's Christmas Song drifted down the hallway.  I got up and shushed him.  Soon a spirited duet of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (yes, now Payton was awake) filled the early morning air and I nudged Scott and told him it was his turn.  Actual present opening began at 6:30am.

Here he is with his new electric snap circuit kit.  Whatever you do, just don't cut the red wire. ;)

 

and the best sight of all . . . .  

 

Merry Christmas!

red, white, and sparkle

gotta have the red and gotta have the sparkle . . . 

 

this year there's an abundance of word art . . . 

 

and a few touches of nostalgia here and there . . . 

 

a collage of christmas wishes - i love to watch it grow . . . 

 

sparkle, shine, glow, twinkle, illuminate . . . 

and there is magic in the air.

all i want for christmas

Payton gets to fill in this phrase with the obvious . . . my two four front teeth.

At the ward Christmas party saturday night each of the kids got a chance to share with Santa their greatest Christmas wishes.

 

for Conner . . . "I want a remote control car that drives all over the place.  On walls, on the ceiling . . . I think it's called Zero Gravity or something."  We already told Conner that Santa checked with us and we vetoed that request.  But he just keeps on trying.

 

for Payton . . . "legos."  And in this photo he is showing Santa how many legos he already has.

 

for Anna . . . "I want panties."  Yes, she asked Santa for panties.  And 2 weeks ago she told our home teachers that she wanted panties for Christmas.  I'm just thankful we can still get away with the, "she's only 4" excuse.

electric

what a cute little reindeer!

What's not so cute (or fun) is the insane amount of static electricity we dealt with a couple weeks ago.  The daily highs stayed below freezing for a week, there was no rain, no wind . . . just a lot of dry, dry air.  You want to talk about dry, sandpaper hands or chapped lips and faces - we had it.  But the most annoying part was all the static electricity in the air.  Poor Anna would come to me and say, "mom can you put my hair in ponies so it doesn't stick to my face?"  Let's just say that it was not a good hair week!

so far in december

Friday was the last day of school.  Saturday was the last day of basketball.  And I feel like we have a little more freedom and a little more air to breathe.  The to-do lists are still there (and growing).  For the most part we are just trying to keep up with day to day life, prepare for the big day this week, and sprinkle in some magic here and there.

So far in december we . . . 

made microwave s'mores

 

helped the cub scouts collect canned food and sing Christmas songs at the nursing home

decorated the house, strung up lights outside

slept under the Christmas tree
(I asked the kids to pretend they were sleeping in this picture.  This, in no way, is any indication of how the actual night went down.  Payton slept with me on the couch until 11:30pm.  Conner was still awake at 11:30, reading, and then decided to just go to his own bed.  And at some point Anna woke me up with a bloody finger.) 

made candy cane milkshakes

watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional while eating popcorn for Family Home Evening

attended the boys' school winter program where Payton's 1st grade class sang "Dance Myself to Sleep" from Sesame Street.  It was cuteness overload.

attended LOTS of basketball games

went on a Christmas shopping date with Scott that included dinner at The Cheesecake Factory

helped out at Anna's preschool Christmas party

 

FROZE while temps stayed below freezing for an entire week

attended the ward Christmas party

I hosted Bunco and was excited to have an excuse to make a big pot of wassail

sent out Christmas cards

listened to Alvin & the Chipmunks Christmas Song way too many times

attended Anna's first ballet recital.  It was a low-key, casual, and short event but so stinkin' cute!  I didn't take many photos as my focus that night was video (and I was riding solo).  Grandparents, you can expect to see the performance soon.  :)

 

made cards for teachers

cuddled under a blanket

drank hot chocolate

and hope that the season doesn't pass by too quickly.

I'm pretty sure this is the last year we are going to have three *believers*.  Questions are rising. . . . So I really want to enjoy the next week, play up the Christmas season, traditions, and fun for everything it is worth.

I think it will be a good one.
 

the spirit of christmas

I know . . . . long time, no blog.  :)

Last Sunday, I sat in the back of the Primary room as Tamera presented the sharing time lesson in Junior Primary (this is a group lesson time for the 3 to 7 year old children).  The theme for the month of December is "My family is blessed when we remember Jesus."

 

She stood there with a handful of pictures depicting scenes from Christ's life.  The children took turns raising their hands and quickly shared what they remembered from the story.  As she showed picture after picture, the children were eager to participate, to show that they recognized the story, and share their comments.

 
I soon noticed one little boy who had his hand raised high.  This is a sweet boy who, despite his limitations, always has a smile on his face and is happy to come to Primary.  I realized, then, that I don't think I had ever seen him raise his hand to answer a question or participate in a verbal way.  (He is always more than happy - with that smile - to hold up a picture, take a turn in an activity, etc.)

 

His hand went higher and higher and he could hardly be contained in his seat.  Other children had their hands up as well, sharing thoughts when called upon and others just sharing. :)  I could tell from this boys' body language and sounds that he really wanted to be called on.  I wondered what would happen when we was.

 
A picture was turned over and his name was called.  From behind I watched as he held up both hands and made the sign for "Jesus" over and over and over again. Alternately touching his middle finger to the palm on his other hand.

 

I smiled.  And I felt the spirit.  And I recognized the love that these children have for their Savior and the love that He has for them.  It is amazing and humbling for me to see how the love of Jesus Christ is felt and recognized and expressed by the the young, the simple, the meek. 

I came across this video last week.  I love that it demonstrates in such a simple, pure way what the spirit of Christmas is.  And at the heart of it all we only need to remember one thing . . . . Christ.